Practical discussion on contemporary life challenges from an ancient perspective.

Wednesday, December 17, 2014

CELESTIAL CITIZENS

For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also
eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ(Philippians 3:20)

A Christian is a citizen of two kingdoms.Being born in the United States, I am an American
citizen with all the rights and responsibilities that come with that
status.But, being born again from
above, I am now a celestial citizen, belonging to the Kingdom of Heaven!While I still pledge allegiance to the flag
of the United States of
America, my ultimate allegiance is to the
Lord God and His precepts.My
citizenship on earth will fade like the colors of the Star Spangled Banner, and
eventually dissolve in time.My
citizenship in eternity will never cease and only becomes increasingly glorious
as its fulfillment nears and is experienced forever.The Bloodstained Banner of the Cross is the
flag I now joyfully follow.Although
there are foretastes of Heaven down here, we know that this is nothing compared
to what awaits us when Jesus returns.Someday—and I pray today—our King will come.Let us have our convictions, conduct and
conversations in anticipation of that great reality.The charge is sometimes made that Christians
are so heavenly minded that they are no earthly good.The truth is that those who have made the
most significant impact in the world have been those motivated by the reality
of the world to come.C.S. Lewis put it
this way, “Aim at
heaven and you will get earth thrown in. Aim at earth and you get neither.”If you have not bowed to the Lord Jesus
Christ, pledge allegiance to Him today.If you have—live like it!

No comments:

About Me

I am a mountaineer by birth--a native of Asheville, NC. For a period of ten years I lived in the Charlotte area and for the last eighteen, I have been "home." I was brought up in a Christian family. In fact, I went to church nine months before I was born! Despite the best efforts of parents and preachers, I went astray. The Prodigal Son story that Jesus told in Luke 15 became my story--a sordid life of drugs and booze and that's enough for you to know. But at the age of eighteen all I had been taught came flooding back into my mind when I saw the mess I was in. Christ changed me. I gave my life to Him and as a result have spent the last three decades preaching the Gospel. I'm not all I ought to be and certainly not what I one day shall be, but thankfully, not what I used to be! God has blessed me with a great wife, five wonderful children and so far, twelve grandchildren. To Him be the glory and praise, now and forever.